Latest news with #GreensandLeftAlliance
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Activist boat set to sail from Sicily with aid for Gaza
The ship "Madleen" of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on May 30. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Activist boat set to sail from Sicily with aid for Gaza – A boat organised by an international activist coalition opposed to Israel's blockade of Gaza was departing from Sicily on June 1 to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, an Italian politician told AFP. The boat from Freedom Flotilla Coalition was due to set sail from the port of Catania, carrying around a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, according to Marco Grimaldi, the deputy head of the Greens and Left Alliance, which has supported the mission. 'The ship carries the flag of public opinion, we are trying to make even more noise' about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Mr Grimaldi said. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, launched in 2010, is a non-violent international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protest against the blockade on Gaza. The 'Madleen' is a small sailboat carrying 'fruit juices, milk, rice, tinned food and protein bars donated by hundreds of Catania residents,' journalist Andrea Legni reported from aboard. Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, a Member of the European Parliament, said on May 29 that she would also join the voyage. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. The crisis began after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel in October 2023, triggering a full-scale war and an Israeli blockade that has severely restricted the flow of aid into Gaza. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on May 31 that at least 4,149 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,418, mostly civilians. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
LeMonde
23-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
In Italy, the populist stunts of a Neapolitan TikTok star
Letter from Rome Her face, heavily made up and adorned with sparkling piercings, has become emblematic of a new brand of southern populism. Rita De Crescenzo, 45, a Neapolitan TikTok creator with 1.8 million followers, has become known for her headline-grabbing acts while declaring herself ready to enter politics. Her latest move was a video published on May 16 in which she targeted Naples MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli. In a mix of Italian and hard-to-understand Neapolitan dialect, she threatened to "destroy" him. "You took the bread from my mouth? You came after me? Now, I'm going to blow everything up. I've unleashed myself, and Naples will rise up behind me. With one of my videos, something will happen that you cannot even imagine," threatened De Crescenzo, addressing the progressive lawmaker, a member of the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS). A self-appointed defender of the working-class identity of the impoverished southern Italian city, the influencer reproached the MP for meddling in family affairs – often, as is common in the Mezzogiorno, surrounded by suspicions of fraud, in a region marked by the grip of organized crime.
Arab News
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Italy's far-right League faces complaint over ‘racist, Islamophobic' AI-generated images
LONDON: Italy's far-right League party has been referred to the country's communications watchdog after opposition parties filed a complaint over 'racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic' images generated by artificial intelligence and shared on social media by deputy prime minister and party leader Matteo Salvini. The complaint was submitted to Agcom, Italy's communications regulatory authority, on Thursday by the center-left Democratic Party, along with the Greens and Left Alliance. It alleges the images published by the League contained 'almost all categories of hate speech,' according to The Guardian, which first reported the story. 'In the images published by Salvini's party and generated by AI there are almost all categories of hate speech, from racism and xenophobia to Islamophobia. They are using AI to target specific categories of people — immigrants, Arabs — who are portrayed as potential criminals, thieves and rapists,' said Antonio Nicita, a PD senator. Nicita also criticized the decision to blur the faces of the supposed victims, calling it 'deceptive' and accusing the League of intentionally misleading users into believing the images were real. Emilio Borrelli, an MP with the Greens and Left Alliance, said the images were 'part of their strategy to create fear among citizens' and 'incite hate.' Over the past month, dozens of apparently AI-generated images have been posted across the League's social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and X. Many depict men of colour, often armed with knives, attacking women or police officers. A spokesperson for Salvini's party confirmed some of the pictures were digitally generated but insisted: 'The point is not the image. The point is the fact,' adding the posts were 'based on true reports from Italian newspapers.' However, AI forensic experts have stated all the images in question bore clear signs of being artificially generated. They also noted that while platforms are required to label AI-generated content, in most cases automatic detection tools failed to do so. In one of the posts cited in the complaint, a mother and father in Islamic dress appear to be shouting angrily at a young girl — a portrayal the complainants say fuels racial and Islamophobic stereotypes. The newspaper cited in the post, Il Giorno, makes no reference to the family's religion and does not include any photographs. The only detail given was that the child had attended Arabic language classes. As The Guardian reported, the use of AI-generated imagery by far-right parties across Europe has surged in recent months. The targets are often refugees from conflict zones such as Syria, Sudan and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as people from other minority backgrounds. These depictions frequently invoke the debunked 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory, which falsely claims that immigration is part of a plot to erode European identity and culture. Salvini, who has capitalized on rising refugee arrivals in Europe to maintain a prominent role in Italian politics and advocate for stricter immigration policies, has frequently made headlines for inflammatory remarks, including calling immigrants — often men — 'dogs and pigs.' In late 2024, he was acquitted of charges of kidnapping and dereliction of duty after judges ruled that the evidence presented by prosecutors was insufficient to convict him. The case stemmed from a 2019 incident in which Salvini, then interior minister, refused to allow a Spanish migrant rescue ship to dock in an Italian port, leaving those on board stranded at sea for 19 days. Asked whether the League was aware the images could incite hate, a party spokesperson said: 'We are sorry, but our solidarity goes to the victims, not the perpetrators. If denouncing crimes committed by foreigners means 'xenophobia', perhaps the problem is not the word but those who use it to censor debate. We will continue to denounce, with strong words and images, what others prefer to ignore.'' If Agcom finds the League's content in violation of regulations, it could act under the EU's Digital Services Act, which allows it to order the removal of posts, shut down accounts or impose fines on social media platforms for failing to moderate harmful content.
The Guardian
18-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Italian opposition file complaint over far-right deputy PM party's use of ‘racist' AI images
Opposition parties in Italy have complained to the communications watchdog about a series of AI-generated images published on social media by deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini's far-right party, calling them 'racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic', the Guardian has learned. The centre-left Democratic party (PD), with the Greens and Left Alliance, filed a complaint on Thursday with Agcom, the Italian communications regulatory authority, alleging the fake images used by the League contained 'almost all categories of hate speech'. Over the past month, dozens of apparently AI‑generated photos have appeared on the League's social channels, including on Facebook, Instagram and X. The images frequently depict men of colour, often armed with knives, attacking women or police officers. Antonio Nicita, a PD senator, said: 'In the images published by Salvini's party and generated by AI there are almost all categories of hate speech, from racism and xenophobia to Islamophobia. They are using AI to target specific categories of people – immigrants, Arabs – who are portrayed as potential criminals, thieves and rapists. 'These images are not only violent but also deceptive: by blurring the faces of the victims it is as if they want to protect the identity of the person attacked, misleading users into believing the photo is real. These are images that incite hatred.' 'This is serious,' said Francesco Emilio Borrelli, an MP for the Greens and Left Alliance. 'AI generates content based on our instructions, and in this case it was clearly instructed to generate images of black people robbing an elderly woman or a frightened woman. It is part of their strategy to create fear among citizens.' A spokesperson for Salvini's party confirmed that 'some of the pictures' featured on their social media channels had been 'generated digitally'. In a statement it said: 'The point is not the image. The point is the fact. Each post is based on true reports from Italian newspapers, with names, dates and places. If reality seems too harsh, do not blame those who report it, but those who make it so. If it is about a crime, it is hard to accompany the news with cheerful or reassuring images.' Salvatore Romano, the head of research at the nonprofit AI Forensics, said the League pictures bore 'all the hallmarks of artificial intelligence'. 'They are out‑of‑context photos in which the subject is in the foreground and the rest is entirely blurred. What worries me is that these AI‑generated images are becoming ever more realistic.' The complaint to Agcom cites several examples of images thought to have been digitally generated, saying they have appeared alongside the branding of reputable mainstream media outlets which have reported on the crimes mentioned but not used images of the alleged perpetrators. In one case, the League's post says: 'A foreigner attacks the train conductor' and pairs the text with an image of a man of colour with his fist raised. The original headline in Il Resto del Carlino reads: 'He attacks the [female] train conductor and sparks panic on board.' The article makes no mention of the suspect's nationality beyond calling him a 'foreigner'. There was no photograph of the alleged attack. Another image featured in the complaint shows a mother and father in Islamic dress appearing to shout angrily at a girl, 'thus feeding racial and Islamophobic prejudice'. Il Giorno, the newspaper that is cited, makes no reference in its report to the religion of either the family or the girl allegedly abused by her parents, beyond saying the child had attended Arabic language school. There was no photograph of the family. The use of AI‑generated images for propaganda by far‑right parties is a growing phenomenon that entered the mainstream around last year's European elections, when images designed to stoke fears over immigration or demonise leaders such as Emmanuel Macron began circulating on social media. 'Then came the American elections with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who effectively normalised this trend,' said Romano. 'Today we see that far‑right parties have not only continued to generate fake images for propaganda but have also increased their use at a time when AI tools have improved content quality, making the phenomenon all the more worrying.' Despite social platforms being obliged to take steps to anticipate these risks – for example by adding a label specifying that an image has been generated by AI – Romano says that, in practice, this mechanism is almost always ineffective. Asked if the League was aware that the images could generate hate speech, a spokesperson for Salvini's party said: 'We are sorry, but our solidarity goes to the victims, not the perpetrators. If denouncing crimes committed by foreigners means 'xenophobia', perhaps the problem is not the word but those who use it to censor debate. We will continue to denounce, with strong words and images, what others prefer to ignore.'' If Agcom deems the flagged content offensive it can, under the EU's Digital Services Act, order posts to be taken down, accounts to be removed and social media platforms to be fined for failing to police user behaviour. In 2023, Agcom fined Meta €5.85m and ordered the removal of dozens of accounts for breaching the ban on gambling advertising. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, was approached for comment. X declined to comment.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- The Guardian
Italian police arrest 24 suspected mafiosi over Naples parking protection racket
Italian police have arrested 24 suspected members of the Camorra – the notorious Neapolitan mafia – on charges of drug trafficking, arms possession and running an illegal parking attendant scheme. According to investigators, several of those arrested on Monday were reportedly affiliated with well-known Camorra families operating in the Fuorigrotta and Chiaia districts of Naples. Some were already serving jail sentences. Investigators said the Troncone and Frizziero clans, in addition to involvement in the drug trade and cigarette smuggling, were behind a parking scheme in which drivers felt compelled by 'attendants' to pay extra fees in order to ensure their vehicles remain untouched when parked. The practice is widespread in southern Italy and, according to a report by the Greens and Left Alliance political grouping, there are approximately 2,400 illegal parking attendants operating in Naples alone. Many of them are thought to be affiliated with Camorra clans, and the illicit trade allegedly generates more than €100m (£86m) a year. In other areas, unauthorised attendants are forced to pay protection money to mobsters in order to be allowed to operate within territories controlled by the mafia. 'Illegal parking attendants essentially demand a protection fee, a pizzo, from drivers,' said Francesco Emilio Borrelli, an MP for the Greens and Left Alliance. 'They even ask you to pay when you park in areas that are already marked for payment. If you refuse, you are threatened, your car can be damaged or, even worse, you can be physically assaulted.' Borrelli himself has been beaten and threatened on several occasions by illegal attendants in Naples. In one instance, he says, they even attempted to run him over with a car. Borrelli said the problem is that, under the law, acting as an unauthorised parking attendant isn't considered a criminal offence. 'Offenders merely receive a token fine,' he added. 'If we don't change the law, these clans will continue to exploit citizens for their own profit.' Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Last year, the police discovered that during Napoli football matches, or for concerts at the Stadio Maradona, prices for parking in lots managed by unauthorised attendants fluctuated between €15 and €20, climbing as high as €30 during Champions League or high-profile league matches.
